ALBERT

Description: Despite over a century of exploitation of fish in European waters, scientists know surprisingly little about the precise distribution of the major commercially exploited fish species, and their habitat requirements. This is the first European study that aims to identify essential fish habitats of commercially important fish species (cod, haddock, whiting, plaice, sole, plaice, lemon sole) in the Irish Sea and the English Channel (UK). Areas of the seabed that harbour the highest densities of these species were identified and mapped using an existing database spanning 12 years data from national stock assessments. Demersal fishers observe samples from the sea floor every time they haul their nets, which far exceed the sampling schemes that scientists can afford or mobilise. Experienced fishers may have decades of observations to bring to bear and keep detailed records of exactly where and when they fish and how much they catch. Although the ultimate goal of fishing is to provide income from the catch, rather than to test scientific hypotheses, many fishers seek to understand the very questions about the seabed that motivate our study. Therefore, we decided to liase with the fishing industry to refine our broad scale fish maps for future survey. Information was gathered in a pilot study through questionnaires filled in at a fishing exhibition. Through a process of informal presentations and meetings, fishermen have helped us to refine our studies by pinpointing fishing grounds of importance for the fish species in question. The co-operation with fishers has not only added to the credibility of the study and any management decisions that may depend on its findings, but has also highlighted once more the vast amount of knowledge that can be gained from this declining species.

Description: Fishers have often complained that standard United Kingdom groundfish survey data do notadequately reflect the grounds targeted by commercial fishers, and hence, scientists tend to make overcautiousestimates of fish abundance. Such criticisms are of particular importance if we are to make acreditable attempt to classify potential essential fish habitat (EFH) using existing data from groundfishsurveys. Nevertheless, these data sets provide a powerful tool to examine temporal abundance of fishon a large spatial scale. Here, we report a questionnaire-type survey of fishers (20012002) that invitedthem to plot the location of grounds of key importance in the Irish Sea and to comment on key habitatfeatures that might constitute EFH for Atlantic cod Gadus morhua, haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus,and European whiting Merlangius merlangus. Plotted grounds were cross-checked using records ofvessel sightings by fishery protection aircraft (19851999). A comparison of the areas of seabedhighlighted by fishers and the observations made on groundfish surveys were broadly compatible forall three species of gadoids examined. Both methods indicated important grounds for cod and Europeanwhiting off northern Wales, the Ribble estuary, Solway Firth, north of Dublin, and Belfast Lough. Themajority of vessel sightings by aircraft did not match the areas plotted by fishers. However, fishingrestrictions, adverse weather conditions, and seasonal variation of fish stocks may have forced fishersto operate outside their favored areas on the (few) occasions that they had been recorded by aircraft.Fishers provided biological observations that were consistent among several independent sources (e.g.,the occurrence of haddock over brittle star [ophiuroid] beds). We conclude that fishers knowledge isa useful supplement to existing data sets that can better focus more detailed EFH studies.

Description: Fishers have often complained that standard fisheries survey data do not adequately reflect the grounds targeted by commercial fishers and hence scientists tend to make over-cautious estimates of fish abundance. Such criticisms are of particular importance if we are to make a creditable attempt to classify 'Essential Fish Habitat' using existing large-scale standard trawl surveys. Nevertheless, these datasets provide a powerful tool to examine consistent patterns in the temporal abundance of fish on a spatial scale. Here, we report a questionnaire survey of fishers that invited them to indicate the location of grounds of key importance for gadoid fishes. In addition, fishers were asked to indicate whether they had noticed key habitat features that might indicate the characteristics of EFH. A comparison of such areas as highlighted by fishers with data from standard groundfish surveys were broadly compatible for all three species of gadoids examined. Many sampling stations of these surveys fell outside areas highlighted by fishers as key fishing grounds/habitats. Fishers were able to provide usable biological observations that were consistently cross-referenced by several independent sources, for example the occurrence of haddock over brittlestar beds. We conclude that fishers' knowledge is an invaluable supplement to existing datasets that can help to better focus more detailed studies of EFH.